Effects of compost stability on plant growth, microbiological parameters and nitrogen availability in media containing mixed garden-waste compost
✍ Scribed by Alan A. Keeling; Bryan S. Griffiths; Karl Ritz; Mike Myers
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 1995
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 532 KB
- Volume
- 54
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0960-8524
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
✦ Synopsis
Garden waste was composted over a number of weeks in a windrow, and turned regularly to maintain aerobic conditions. The physical parameters of the composting material were measured, and at 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks of processing samples were removed and incorporated into growth media. Ryegrass was grown over 1 year and harvested regularly for measurement of dry matter and N content. In addition, compost samples were removed and the microfauna and total microbial biomass quantified. It was shown that the younger composts (1 and 2 week processing) gave higher dry matter and N yields. The young compost (1 week) contained significantly higher protozoan (especially ciliate) biomass than the older (4 week) compost, over the entire experimental period.